The Strangest Thing
by Mrs Don Draper
Summary: If "Jughead" had gone differently...Set when Dan and Charlotte confess their love for each other. Smut in the first chapter. New chapter added, set one year after the incident in my version of "Jughead."
1. I Love You

"I love him," she told Richard and Blonde soldier.

The shock on his face told everyone, especially Charlotte, that he wasn't expecting to hear these words. Whatever the case, saying so made the soldier camp trust them enough to get out and search for Sawyer, Locke, and Juliet.

"Did-did you really mean what you said earlier?" asked Dan later that evening, while they were residing in their own little army-green tent.

"Well, I wouldn't make that up, Dan."

"You didn't just say that to, uh, keep us from getting shot or something?"

She rolled her eyes; sometimes he could be so thick headed! For someone who knew so much, understood so little of what people are feeling rather than thinking. Figuring that explaining to him how she felt and why would be pointless, she went over and kissed him. She pulled him close to her and willed him not to ask her why or how would this work. Maybe this time he would just trust her.

Charlotte was almost surprised when she was the first one to pull away. When she moved her head back, she felt him quickly grasp her hips and pull her back to him.

"Don't go," he pleaded.

"I wasn't going to. Just needed a breath or two."

As soon as she had her breathing under control, they resumed kissing each other, and Charlotte started back them up onto one of the small mattresses in the tent. She didn't mind being the leader. This sort of thing was out of Daniel's realm of expertise anyway. He surprised her when he began unbuttoning her plain white shirt, slowly and deliberately, almost as if he expected that f he went too far, she would get up and walk away.

"It's alright Dan," she soothed and she felt his sigh of relief against her neck.

Once her shirt was gone, she figured it was her turn. His shirt was also a button-down, but blue and made of soft cotton. It was strange to feel something soft after the harshness of the jungle. After she did this, Dan seemed to gain a bit more confidence when he quickly unbuttoned her pants, but hesitated at going any further. Charlotte would have been frustrated if she hadn't thought it was sweet of him to wait as if to ask for permission to continue. She knew that most guys wouldn't think twice about taking off her jeans and having is way with her before she even knew what was happening.

He nodded his head and slid them off her slender legs. When they were gone, he couldn't help but take in the sight of her.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

She smiled by way of thanks. Then she leaned up on her elbows and beckoned him to lie of her and move this to the next step. The thought of actually being able to be intimate with Charlotte made all other thought leave his head. He carefully laid down on her and she could tell by the hardness she felt against her belly that he wanted this just as badly.

"Charlotte, I-I don't have any protecti--," he started to say, knowing how this was going to work.

He was stopped by the redhead's lips again and by the tugging he felt at his own pants. He was smart enough to guess that she just didn't care. They divulged themselves of their underclothes and then Dan lost all inhibition and entered Charlotte in a quick thrust.

"Daniel!" she cried out, using his full name this time.

The only thing he could manage to say was her name over and over again, every time he buried himself into her, her name was on his lips. _Charlotte! _or an_ Oh, Charlotte! _filled her ears and only succeed in spurring her on, pushing her hips up to meet his.

It wasn't long before neither of them could hold out any longer and before he could pull out, he was spilling himself into her. She panted and held onto him as he rode it out, and he held her when she came a few minutes after.

Even though they were both spent, neither of them wanted to move...so they didn't. Charlotte reached down and grabbed one of the rough blankest Richard had left them and pulled it up to cover their bodies. They didn't know how long they stayed like that, but they guessed it had been a while because Miles came back to tell them some good news.

"Hey, Locke said he talked to Richard and – whoa, ok, _really _did _not _need to see that," said Miles, covering his eyes.

"I'm like, gonna go back by them and uh, let them know you'll be coming to dinner late," he called over his shoulder.

_I knew that when they went missing together that I wouldn't want to be the one to find them, _thought Miles as he walked back to the mess hall.

He would have that picture of them burned into his skull for a long time.


	2. One Year Later

1 Year Later

"Oh, shhhh, sweetie, don't cry," soothed Charlotte, holding her baby girl close to her.

It was only about two o'clock in the morning and all the young mother wanted to do was sleep. Instead, she hiked her daughter up higher in her arms, trying to figure a way to placate the tears.

"Are you hungry?"

She sat cross-legged in her tent and undid her blouse, holding the baby to her breast. This seemed to work for a few minutes, until Anna decided that she was no longer hungry.

_Oh, _now _what am I going to do?_

"Let's go for a little walk down the beach. Maybe you just need some fresh air."

Though she felt dead on her feet, Charlotte knew the walk would put her baby, _Dan's_ baby right to sleep. The stars were high in the sky when she set off. That reminded her of a song she once knew…

"Dan, I wish you were here. I wish you could hold our baby. She's got your dark brown eyes, but I think she'll have my red hair, poor thing," she said aloud, thinking of Daniel, "I named her after my Mother, Anna Lewis. I hope that's alright with you."

She went on like that for a while, pretending to be having a conversation with Dan. She's done alot of that since he was shot by his Mum, on accident of course, in 1977. She had heard the news from Jack when everyone had caught back up with each other. He sort of lost her when he went on about the atomic bomb. She didn't really want to think about Jughead, for that was the first and last time they had made love…and Anna.

She remembered Dan being worried about getting her pregnant, but she had shrugged him off. She had only cared about proving to Dan and herself that she loved him wholeheartedly. She hoped he knew that before he had died.

Charlotte looked down and saw that her child was asleep.

"Good girl. Now Mummy can get some sleep too," she whispered, "Maybe I can tell you a story next time. I can tell you a story about how I met your Dad."

She was quiet on the walk back to the little shelter that Sawyer and Sayid had been kind enough to build for her. She was ever grateful to the new friends she had made since coming to the Island. For instance, without Juliet and Jack, there would have been only Kate or Sun to deliver her baby. And who would she have asked her pregnancy questions to if Claire hadn't been there for her? Or what about Dan? If she hadn't come here, she probably never would have met Daniel Faraday. By this time, she had reached her tent again.

She settled back into her little bed and put Anna back in the cradle Locke had made for her.

"Good night Daniel. Good night Anna. I love you both."

Charlotte slept the whole rest of the night, a feeling of peace covering her like a blanket.


End file.
